Almost 1,700 people gathered on the grounds of the Washington Monument on April 3rd to try to break a record for most people doing yoga at the same time.

The event was organized by Lululemon Athletica, a yoga apparel store, spearheaded by Tysons Corner store manager Laura Mann.

From children to elderly adults, beginners to gurus, the massive group of brightly-dressed participants took up much of the space by the Washington Monument.

Laura Crawford, a visitor to DC, is a yoga lover who heard about the event on Facebook.  She said, “I love yoga, and so when I saw this event, I had to check it out since I was going to be in DC this weekend anyway to visit a friend and check out the Cherry Blossom Festival.”

Mann and her coworkers hope to make the event even larger next year as she hopes to cover the entire National Mall.

The 2010 National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off in Washington, DC on March 27th.  The annual event opened with a family day and runs until April 11th.  The event draws crowds from across the country and the world.

The festival first began in 1912 when the Japanese people gifted the US with 3,000 cherry trees.  The trees, which are planted around the Tidal Basin, are meant to signify the friendship between the two nations.

Craig Stokes, a first-time visitor to the Festival, said, “This was the only time I could really get down here to see the trees.”

People from the United States and abroad flocked to the opening weekend of the Festival.  The Festival ends on April 11th.

“I really love my body, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes I do.  I really love my body walking down Mass. Avenue.”

That’s what the seventy participants of American University’s inaugural Eating Disorder Awareness Walk shouted as they walked 3.6 miles around AU’s campus and the surrounding community.

The event was held to kick off American University’s Body Image Awareness Week, a week of events meant to shed light on eating disorders and body image problems.  The week also aimed to raise money for local body image awareness non-profit organizations like the F.R.E.E.D. Foundation, which co-sponsored the inaugural walk.

Kathleen MacDonald, the Outreach Coordinator for the F.R.E.E.D. Foundation, spoke to kick off the event.  She said, “The money we raise today will go to someone who needs help paying for treatment, someone who may and probably will resort back into old habits if therapy and treatment is not continued.  You’re going to help that person beat this disorder.”

The week also includes a documentary showing of America the Beautiful, a film about America’s obsession with beauty, and a fashion show, where students can show off what they love about themselves, whether it be their voice, their eyes, or simply the way they walk.

Tai Shan the panda has returned to his ancestral home in Chengdu, China!

Tai Shan may have left the National Zoo and the United States on February 4th, but people still have fond memories of the panda born here almost five years ago.  People like Sandy Holton chose to visit the zoo to say a private goodbye to the little Butterball before the zoo threw a commemoration party on January 30th.

Little Tai as he is affectionately called at the zoo was the first panda born at the National Zoo.  Sandy Holton and others remembered their first sight of Tai Shan and laughed about the little panda getting stuck in trees and running around the outdoor enclosure as they took pictures and video.

Tai Shan is returning to China to start breeding.  He was under lease from China, much like his parents who still reside at the zoo.  The National Zoo tried to extend their lease of the little panda, but the country said no.

The National Zoo is trying for another panda cub through artificial insemination.